Praise and gratitude continue to pour in for two men slain in Portland while defending two young girls from violent harassment on a train.
On, Friday, May 26, Taliesin Myrddin Namkai-Meche and Rick Best were stabbed by Jeremy Christian after they confronted him for harassing two young girls, one wearing a hijab.
The response around the globe has been nothing short of inspiring.
There have been vigils throughout the city honoring both men, who died as heroes. Support has overflowed on social media, and Namkai-Meche's mother even wrote a powerful open letter to President Donald Trump urging him to condemn the attack.
There was a third man on the train who was brave enough to step in as the girls were berated: Micah Fletcher. He was lucky enough to survive the fight that followed.
Now, nearly a week since the attack, Fletcher is speaking out about what he saw.
After being treated for serious injuries, Fletcher is recuperating home. He posted a video to his Facebook page on Wednesday that quickly went viral:
"As a poet, you would think that I would have the words. It's kind of my job," he begins. "But for once, I don't."
Amid all the donations and support coming his way, he wants people to know one thing: He is not the real victim.
A clearly emotional Fletcher grasps for words at times before issuing a powerful reminder:
"Can you imagine being the little girl on that MAX [train]?" he says in the video. "This man is screaming at you. ... Everything about him is cocked and loaded and ready to kill you."
"So brave that young girls experience that and still find ways to wake up in the morning with smiles on their faces, to trudge through the day and make their parents proud," he continues.
Fletcher says that, of course, the men who died by his side while defending the women are heroes, and they deserve to be honored. But he urged his viewers not to get swept up in what he calls a "white savior complex."
We should praise the men who stood up against it, but we can't forget that this kind of violence and harassment continues to go on every single day around the country.
"I think it's immensely, morally wrong and irresponsible how much money we have gotten as opposed to how much money and love and kindness have been given to that little girl," Fletcher says near the end of the six-minute video. "These people need to be reminded that this is about them. That they are the real victims. "
Fletcher encouraged everyone watching the video to donate to a fundraiser that would provide the girls with meals, transportation, and mental health care as they recover from the traumatic attack.
Doing so is without a doubt the best way to keep the fight against hate and intolerance alive.
Update 6/13/2017: The video was removed by its creator.
silver tabby cat lying on white textilePhoto by